Thursday, April 18, 2013

2013 Cannes Film Festival: Official Selection

Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward from A New Kind Of Love (1963)

The Official Selection of the 66th Cannes Film Festival was announced Thursday, 15 April 2013 during a press conference held by festival president Gilles Jacob and artistic director Thierry Frémaux, in Paris at the UGC Normandie cinema.

This year's exciting lineup boasts three previous Palme d'Or winners, four American films, three Asian films, and the first Dutch film in competition in 38 years.

French actress, Audrey Tautou, star of last year's closing film (the late Claude Miller's final picture, Thérèse Desqueyroux) will host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 66th Festival de Cannes. She takes over from actress, Bérénice Béjo, who hosted the Festival’s opening and closing ceremonies in 2012.

American filmmaker Steven Spielberg is the President of the Jury. The remaining members of the jury will be announced at a later date. He is joined by Australian actress Nicole Kidman, French actor Daniel Auteuil, Indian actress Vidya Balan, Austrian-German actor Christoph Waltz, Japanese director Naomi Kawase, Taiwanese-American director Ang Lee, Romanian director Cristian Mungiu, and Scottish director Lynne Ramsay.

Read on for a full overview of the lineup of films in the running for the 2013 Palme d'Or:

Opening Film (Out of competition)

The Great Gatsby
directed by Baz LuhrmannAustralia, USA

Australian director Baz Luhrmann's fifth feature film and his third time on the Croisette: Strictly Ballroom (1992) screened in the Un Certain Regard section and won the Award of the Youth, and Moulin Rouge! (2001) opened the 54th Cannes Film Festival. His latest, is a big budget all-star production based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel of the same name. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Isla Fisher, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Jason Clarke, and Tobey Maguire.

Official Selection Film

The sole female director in the Competition lineup, Italian born Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, already an accomplished actress, makes her Cannes debut with her third feature film as a director, and third film co-written with Noèmie Lvovsky (SACD Prize in the Directors' Fortnight last year for Camille Rewinds). A semi autobiographical story about a large Italian bourgeoisie family. It stars herself along with Louis Garrel, Xavier Beauvois, and Filippo Timi.

Official Selection Film

Inside Llewen Davis
directed by Ethan Coen, Joel CoenUSA

No strangers to the Grand Théâtre Lumière; Palme d'Or winning American directors Joel and Ethan Coen (Barton Fink, 1991), return with their sixteenth feature film, and it's their eighth to premiere in competition. It follows a singer-songwriter in the 1960s New York-based folk music scene. It stars Oscar Isaac in the title role, alongside Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, and Garrett Hedlund.

Official Selection Film

Michael Kohlhaas
directed by Arnaud des PallièresFrance, Germany

French director Arnaud des Pallières' fourth feature film, is his first to premiere in the main competition. An adaptation of an 1811 novella of the same name by German writer Heinrich von Kleist. The tale is set in the 16th century and tells the story of a rich horse trader who resorts to terrorism after suffering an injustice. It stars last year's Cannes Best Actor Mads Mikkelsen (The Hunt), alongside Bruno Ganz, Denis Lavant, Amira Casar, and Sergi Lopez.

Official Selection Film

Jimmy Picard
directed by Arnaud DesplechinUSA

French director Arnaud Desplechin returns to the main competition for the fifth time following: La sentinelle (1992), My Sex Life... or How I Got Into an Argument (1996), Esther Kahn (2000), and A Christmas Tale (2008), with this hiseighth feature film. An adaptation of a real life account written in 1951 by psychoanalyst George Devereux. The English language production stars Benicio Del Toro and Mathieu Amalric.

Official Selection Film

Heli
directed by Amat EscalanteMexico

Spanish born, Mexico based director Amat Escalante's third feature film. His first in the main competition after having his previous two films Sangre (FIPRESCI Award, 2005) and Los Bastardos (2008) both appear in the Un Certain Regard section. The only Latin American film in the competition; it is a story set in Guanajuato, Mexico where the local drug cartel has a major presence.

Official Selection Film

Le Passé (The Past)
directed by Asghar FarhadiFrance

Iranian director Asghar Farhadi,makes his Cannes debut with his sixth feature film; his highly anticipated followup to the Berlin Golden Bear and Academy Award winning A Separation (2011). It's a French language drama starring Bérénice Bejo, Tahar Rahim, and Ali Mosaffa, that tells the story of a failed marriage between an Iranian man and his French wife.

Official Selection Film

The Immigrant
directed by James GrayUSA

American writer director James Gray's fifth feature film, and fourth time in competition following The Yards (2000), We Own the Night (2007), and Two Lovers (2008). Previously titled Lowlife, this star studded picture (Jeremy Renner, Joaquin Phoenix, Marion Cotillard) is set in the 1920s and is centered on the shattered American dreams of a Polish immigrant.

Official Selection Film

Grigris
directed by Mahamat-Saleh HarounChad

Chadian director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, previously a Cannes Jury Prize winner for A Screaming Man (2010); returns to the Croisette with a story set in capital city N'Djamena, centered on a partially paralyzed young man involved in the profitable but dangerous gasoline smuggling racket. It stars Soulémane Démé, Mariam Monory, Cyril Guei, Anaïs Monory and Marius Yelolo.

Official Selection Film

Only Lovers Left Alive
directed by Jim JarmuschUSA

American cult filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, previous winner of the Camera d'Or for Stranger Than Paradise (1984), Best Artistic Contribution for Mystery Train (1989), Short Film Palme d'Or for Coffee and Cigarettes III (1995), and the Jury Grand Prix for Broken Flowers (2005), returns to Cannes with his eleventh feature. A romantic drama about two vampires who have been in love for several centuries, starring Tom Hiddleston, Tilda Swinton, Mia Wasikowska, John Hurt, and Anton Yelchin.

Official Selection Film

Tian Zhu Ding 天注定 (A Touch of Sin)
directed by 贾樟柯 Jia ZhangkeChina

Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke's seventh feature length film, and his third presented in the main competition following Unknown Pleasures (2002), and 24 City (2008). An action oriented tribute to King Hu's wuxia masterpiece, A Touch of Zen (1971) told with four interweaving stories. It stars Jiang Wu, Wang Bao Qiang, and Zhao Tao.

Official Selection Film

Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda's ninth feature film, and his third to screen in competition, following Distance (2001), and Nobody Knows (2004). Tells the story of a successful businessman faced with a dilemma when he discovers that his biological son was switched with another child at birth. It stars Masaharu Fukuyama, Ono Machiko, Maki Yoko, and Lily Franky.

Official Selection Film

Tunisian-French director Abdellatif Kechiche's fifth feature film is his first to premiere in the main competition. It's an adaptation of a graphic novel by French artist Julie Maroh that tells a love story between two young women in France at the turn of the 21st century. It stars Adèle Exarchopoulos, Léa Seydoux, Jeremie Laheurte,and Catherine Salée.

Official Selection Film

Prolific (in other words, too many titles to count) and controversial Japanese director Takashi Miike's second appearance in the main competition after Hara-kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011). He returns to Cannes with an adaptation of a novel of the same name by Kazuhiro Kiuchi. The second of two Japanese films in competition, it's an action thriller that revolves around a one-billion-yen bounty placed on the head of a suspected child-killer. It stars Nanako Matsushima, Tatsuya Fujiwara, and Takao Osawa.

Official Selection Film

Jeune et Jolie (Young and Beautiful)
directed by François OzonFrance

The fourteenth feature length film from French writer director François Ozon, but only his second time in the main competition, after Swimming Pool (2003). Billed as the portrait of a seventeen-year-old girl in four seasons and four songs. It stars Marine Vacth, Charlotte Rampling, Frédéric Pierrot, Géraldine Pailhas, Nathalie Richard.

Official Selection Film

Nebraska
directed by Alexander PayneUSA

American director and screenwriter Alexander Payne, returns quickly to Cannes after serving on the official jury in 2012; with his sixth feature film and second to premiere in the main competition after About Schmidt (2002). This latest effort is a road movie shot in black and white that follows an alcoholic father and his estranged son who travel together from Montana to Nebraska to claim a lottery prize. It stars Bruce Dern and Will Forte.

Official Selection Film

Palme d'Or winning, veteran Polish director Roman Polanski (The Pianist, 2002), enters the competition for the third time with his twenty-first feature film. A French drama, adapted from the 2010 two-person stage play by American playwright David Ives. The plot follows the power struggle between a director and the actress who shows up at the last minute to audition for the lead role in his new play. It stars Emmanuelle Seigner and Mathieu Amalric.

Official Selection Film

Behind the Candelabra
directed by Steven SoderberghUSA

American filmmaker Steven Soderbergh, who won the Palme d'Or with his debut film Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989); is invited back to the Croisette for the fourth time, the others being King of the Hill (1993), and Che (2008), with his made-for-HBO 'final film'. A biographical tale about the relationship between American pianist Liberace and his younger lover Scott Thorson. It stars Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Rob Lowe, and Dan Aykroyd.

Official Selection Film

Italian director Paolo Sorrentino's sixth feature film, and fifth to premiere in the official selection; following The Consequences of Love (2004), The Family Friend (2006), Il Divo (Jury Prize, 2008), and This Must Be the Place (Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, 2011). It's an Italian-French co-production set in contemporary Rome and follows an aging writer who reflects bitterly on his lost youth. It stars Toni Servillo, Carlo Verdone, and Sabrina Ferilli.

Official Selection Film

Borgman
directed by Alex van WarmerdamNetherlands

Dutch director Alex van Warmerdam's eighth feature length film and his first time in the official selection. It is also the first Dutch film in competition since Mariken van Nieumeghen (1974). He makes his Cannes debut with a dark modern day fairy tale that pits a middle class family against the Devil in suburbia. The ensemble cast includes Jan Bijvoet, Hadewych Minis, Jeroen Perceval, Eva van de Wijdeven, and Annet Malherbe.

Official Selection Film

Only God Forgives
directed by Nicolas Winding RefnFrance, Denmark

Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn's ninth feature, and his second consecutive film in competition at the festival. He follows up his Best Director winning effort Drive (2011), with another intense crime thriller starring Ryan Gosling. This time set in Bangkok's seedy and violent criminal underworld. The cast also includes Kristin Scott Thomas, Vithaya Pansringarm, and Tom Burke.

Closing Film (Out of competition)

Zulu
directed by Jérôme Salle France

French director Jérôme Salle's fourth feature is his Cannes debut, and his first English language film. Closing the festival with an apartheid era crime thriller, adapted from the Caryl Férey novel of the same name. It was shot on location in South Africa and stars Forest Whitaker (1988 Cannes Best Actor for Bird) and Orlando Bloom.

12 comments:

Man, I love what they have in store. The films I want to see are: "The Great Gatsby", "The Bling Ring" (opening the Un Certain Regarde competition), "Only God Forgives", "Nebraska", "The Past", "Venus in Fur", "Immigrant", "Jeune & Jolie", and "Behind the Candlebra". I can't believe "I'm So Excited!" nor "Twelve Years a Slave" won't be at the festival.

Great job with the coverage! Obviously I'm hyped about the Japanese entries. Anybody who has watched Nobody Knows and Still Walking will tell you that Koreeda is a masterful dramatist who can evoke the greatest emotions from the simplest of situations and conversations.

Shield of Straw by Miike just looks so damn action packed I was tingling with excitement watching the trailer! Love the cast and the poster.

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